Twitter Reactions: Praveen Jayawickrama puts Sri Lanka in the hot-seat in Pallekele Test
Tamim Iqbal missed out on a century after his second score in the 90s in the series.
View : 737
2 Min Read
After the first two days when the match was looking to be headed towards a draw, the second Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh has come alive. It was a day when spinners dictated terms and it was debutant Praveen Jayawickrama, who stole the show with a six-wicket haul. At the close of play on the third day, the Lankans are leading by 259 with eight wickets left in the second innings.
Tamim Iqbal misses out on a century
The hosts played only 3.3 overs, scored 24 runs and then declared at 493 for seven. They went off after Taskin Ahmed picked his fourth wicket in the form of Ramesh Mendis, who scored 33. Meanwhile, Niroshan Dickwella stayed not out on a 72-ball 77.
Bangladesh started their innings on a decent note courtesy of a 98-run stand for the first wicket between Tamim Iqbal and Saif Hassan. Jayawickrama broke the partnership, getting rid of Hassan for 25. Najmul Hossain Shanto fell prey to Ramesh Mendis without opening his account.
It was also his second duck after the one in the second innings of the first Test at the same venue. Meanwhile, Tamim notched his third half-century of the series in a mere 57 balls. But for the third instance in succession, he was unable to get a century.
Jayawickrama comes to the party
On 92 with 12 fours, he became Jayawickrama’s second victim. Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim tried to restore sanity with scores of 49 and 40 respectively. But once the duo perished, the Tigers slumped to a batting collapse, getting reduced from 214 for three to 251 all out in a space of 21.2 overs.
Jayawickrama went on to pick up a six-wicket haul to go with seven maidens in 32 overs. Mendis and fast bowler Suranga Lakmal shared two wickets each. With a lead of 242 runs, the Lankans didn’t enforce the follow on but got off to a poor start.
In the third over, Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed Lahiru Thirimanne. In the very next over, Taijul Islam pinned Oshada Fernando, reducing the Lankans to 17 for two. Dimuth Karunaratne hit two fours to stay unbeaten on a 21-ball 13.
Here’s how the netizens reacted to Sri Lanka’s dominance:
Always lovely to see the U19 stars doing well at the senior level. Praveen Jayawickrama played in ICC U19 WC 2018 in NZ. Today, he registered the best inns figures (6-92) on Test debut for Sri Lanka. A bright prospect. #SLvBD
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) May 1, 2021
OmG .. what a find Praveen Jayawickrama 😃 #SLvBAN Wouldn’t have played if many others were fit 💪🏾 5 wickets on debut and everything to like about the way he bowls .. Congratulations 👏👏
— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) May 1, 2021
Congratulations to young Praveen Jayawickrama who became the 5th Sri Lankan to take a 5wkt haul on test debut. Kuruppuarachchi, Chandana, Akila, Embuldeniya being the others.
— Roshan Abeysinghe (@RoshanCricket) May 1, 2021
That’s best figures by a Sri Lankan on debut in Test cricket. Praveen Jayawickrama now has six for 91. Previous best Upul Chandana six for 179 against Pakistan in 1999.
— Rex Clementine (@RexClementine) May 1, 2021
Praveen Jayawickrama dismissed both Bangladesh openers Saif & Tamim as his first 2 Test wickets. Before today, the last time a debutant's first 2 wickets in his Test career was opposition's both openers were Amir Hamza (AFG) against WI in 2019 – Brathwaite & Campbell.#SLvBAN
— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) May 1, 2021
Lovely bowling from Praveen Jayawickrama. Six-for on debut, grabbing the opportunity that came to him after three other left-arm spinners were injured/unfit. #SLvBAN
— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) May 1, 2021
The wait for Niroshan Dickwella continues, he has 18 fifties but no three figures from 45 Tests as he stayed unbeaten on 77* with Sri Lanka declared the first innings. #SLvBAN
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 1, 2021
Declaration was the correct decision and even Dickwella would agree with it.
Team > Personal records #SLvBAN
— Sakun (@Sakun_SD) May 1, 2021
Bangladesh, from 214/3 to 251 all out. The highway in Pallekele is now a debutant's paradise. A seemingly drawn Test match is now heavily titled towards Sri Lanka..
How good was that, Praveen Jayawickrama, absolute spectacle. Preserve him @OfficialSLC #SLvBAN #SLvsBAN
— Sabyasachi Chowdhury (@sabya0912) May 1, 2021
Download Our App